The Helm of Darkness by A.P. Mobley Pages: 260
Published by Sea of Ink Press on June 3, 2018
Series: War on the Gods #1
Genres: Young Adult, mythology, Fantasy & Magic
Andy and Zoey are two normal teenagers living in the modern day—that is, until they’re knocked unconscious in a freak storm sweeping the United States.
When they wake up, the world they know has been tossed away. Their city is in ruins, strange creatures walk the earth, and worst of all, everyone is gone. They stumble across Diana and Spencer, two kids around their age who possess incredible magical abilities, and who claim to be the demigod children of Greek gods. Not only that, they also claim the year is 500 AS, five hundred years after the gods conjured a massive storm that destroyed most of humanity and helped them take the world as their own once again.
Andy and Zoey are soon handed an impossible task: To save humanity. To lead a war on the gods.
They’ll have to battle monsters, death, and their own inner demons to survive and to protect the people they love.
What readers are saying:
"A fast-paced, easy read that I feel the target audience will have no problem sitting down and digging into. They'll become engulfed in this post-apocalyptic fantasy world." ~Josh O.
"A fantastic and unpredictable read that pulls you into the land of the Greek. Readers relate and truly recognize themselves within the pages. The biggest struggle was putting it down and leaving the story unfinished." ~Kaylee K.
"A.P. Mobley's characters are extraordinary, yet relatable. The burdens that each of them carry will keep you turning the pages to find out if they can overcome them. She describes nightmarish monsters throughout, and Hades as a place scarier than hell. If you are not familiar with Greek mythology before reading this book, you will be obsessed with it after you are done." ~Shanele W.
Today I have author A.P. Mobley stopping by book briefs to share with us her top ten most terrifying greek monsters! If you know me, you know that I am in love with all thinks greek mythology. One of the things I love about mythology is that the monsters are truly terrifying, and the top 10 on A.P. Mobley’s list are seriously scary. Read on to see who they are, and then don’t forget to enter the great giveaway down below to enter to win a copy of The Helm of Darkness for yourself!
The Top Ten Most Terrifying Mythical Greek Monsters
Hey there! My name is A. P. Mobley, and I’m the author of a new action-packed fantasy trilogy with lots of Greek mythology called War on the Gods. The first installment of the trilogy, The Helm of Darkness, is my debut novel and comes out on June 3rd, 2018. It follows two teens as they are knocked unconscious in a freak storm. When they wake up, they find they’ve been transported 500 years into the future, that the Greek gods were the ones who sent the freak storm to destroy the modern world and take back humanity’s worship, and that they are the key to a prophecy stating a war will be led on the gods. With the help of two demigods they begin their quest to become worthy opponents of the gods.
Greek mythology is one of my all-time favorite subjects and I’ve been reading about it since I was only 11 years old in every format I could get my hands on. I’m honored to be here today on the Book Briefs blog writing a guest post on the subject, and I have an illustration of a scene from the first chapter + the quote depicting it at the end of the post. So stay tuned!
Today I wanted to talk about one of the most exciting parts of Greek mythology for me and many others, which are the monsters of the stories. From the Minotaur to the Hydra to the Cyclops, I think it’s safe to say that throughout the ages these mythical beings have both fascinated and terrified humanity. Which is why today I’m going to be bringing you my top ten most terrifying mythical Greek monsters and the stories they’re featured in, several of which make an appearance in The Helm of Darkness, or will make an appearance in future installments of the trilogy.
Ten—Amphisbaena
The Amphisbaena was a venomous serpent-like creature with a head on either end of its body. It spawned from the blood that dripped into the Libyan Desert from Medusa’s neck as Perseus flew over the desert on Pegasus with her severed head in hand. When Cato’s army passed through the desert, it is said the Amphisbaena fed on the corpses left behind.
Nine—Stymphalian Birds
The Stymphalian Birds were vicious, man-eating birds with poisonous droppings, bronze beaks, and sharp feathers that could be shot at their victims. It was Heracles’s sixth labor to defeat these birds. To kill them, he lured them out of their nests and shot them with poison-laced arrows.
Eight—Minotaur
The Minotaur was a creature that was half-man, half-bull, who lurked in the Labyrinth under the palace of Knossos in Crete. Every nine years seven young Athenian men and women were sent to the Labyrinth to be eaten by the Minotaur to appease King Minos for the killing of his son. When the third sacrifice came, Theseus, son of Aegeus, volunteered to go and slay the monster. He used a ball of thread to navigate through the Labyrinth and killed the Minotaur with his father’s sword.
Seven—Cyclops
The Cyclops, or Cyclopes (plural), were the giant, one-eyed, man-eating children of Poseidon. In other versions of the myth, they were the children of the Titans Uranus and Gaia. Polyphemus, a Cyclops that was tricked and blinded by Odysseuss, is probably the most famous of the Cyclopes. In one story Polyphemus fell in love with the nymph Galatea, but she denied his advances for a young man named Acis. Enraged, Polyphemus crushed Acis with a boulder.
Six—Medusa
Medusa was a winged woman with snakes in place of her hair whose gaze would turn living beings to stone. At one time she was a beautiful maiden, wanted by many men. Poseidon pursued her, and when she rejected him and fled to Athena’s temple to ask for protection, Poseidon raped her there. As punishment, Athena transformed her into a monster. Some people say this was not intended to be a punishment, but a means of protection for Medusa, as any man who dared take advantage of her in the future would be turned to stone.
Five—Lernaean Hydra
The Lernaean Hydra was a water monster with poisonous breath and blood, and seven heads. Any time a head would be cut off, two more would grow from the stump. It was Heracles’s second labor to slay it. As he cut off each of the monster’s heads, his nephew Iolaus cauterized the wound so that no heads could grow back.
Four—Trojan Cetus
The Trojan Cetus was a huge serpentine sea monster sent by Poseidon to plague the city of Troy because the king refused to pay for the building of the city’s walls. The only way to appease Poseidon would be to offer the king’s daughter, Hesione, to the monster. The king chained Hesione to the rocks by the sea as an offering, but Heracles defeated the Trojan Cetus with a fish hook before it could devour the princess.
Three—Charybdis and Scylla
Charybdis and Scylla were two monsters on each side of the Strait of Messina. Charybdis was described as a creature that lived under a rock on one side of the channel, and three times a day she swallowed massive amounts of water then threw it back up, which created whirlpools that could destroy ships. On the other side of the channel, Scylla, a six-headed creature, devoured sailors as they passed by. When Odysseus and his men passed through the strait, he decided they would sail closer to Scylla so that they would only lose a few men rather than the entire ship.
Two—Echidna
Echidna was known as the mother of monsters, and mate to the most terrifying monster in all of Greek mythology: Typhon. She was half-woman, half-snake, lived alone in a cave, and feasted on the raw flesh of men. Some say she was immortal, while others said that after many years of preying on anyone that came her way she was slain by Argus. Some of her monstrous children were Orthrus, Cerberus, and the Lernaean Hydra.
One—Typhon
Typhon is said to be the most dangerous of all monsters in Greek mythology. He was so large his head touched the sky. On the top he was a winged humanoid creature, while on the bottom he had huge snake tails, and some say he breathed fire. He fathered many monsters with Echidna, and at one time attempted to overthrow Zeus, King of the Gods. Zeus ultimately defeated him.
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So there you have it folks! The top ten most terrifying mythical Greek monsters. Since you’ve stuck around until the end, here’s that lovely illustration of a scene from chapter one of The Helm of Darkness + the quote that depicts it:
“The sky had opened into an angry vortex, and the largest, most brilliant gold lightning bolt yet shot from it, straight for them. It illuminated the fast-falling raindrops like millions of miniature lightbulbs. Her heart stopped. In that moment, she knew they were dead.
The bolt struck the pavement of the parking lot and filled the air with cement, metal, and screams.”
And check it out!
You can read the full first chapter here: https://seaofinkpress.wordpress.com/2018/03/23/the-helm-of-darkness-chapter-one-storm/
See some of @author_apmobley picks for most terrifying #Myhtology Monsters & enter to #Win The Helm of Darkness at @BookBriefs Click To Tweet
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